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The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the principal military adviser to the British Government. Formally, the British Monarch is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and therefore is senior to the CDS. In practice the Government provide direction through the Defence Council of which the CDS is a member. The post was created in 1959 to reflect the new conceptions of joint operations that had come to the fore in World War II. Prior to the creation of the post, Sir William Dickson served as the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1956 onwards. Before 1956, although no permanent post of chairman existed, the three service chiefs took it in turn to act as chairman.